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Mercedes
A wedding
A holistic and glorious celebration where two individuals, under the goddess and witnessed by the people, once separate bind themselves to become one. Swearing an oath of fidelity in sickness and in health, for richer and for poorer, in the trials of one faced; they shall face together.
Mercedes thinks such a sacrament holy and exciting, even though she has had such a bad example of the sacrament with her parents.
And for it to be happening between her beloved teacher and her fiance, the now ruling royal of United Fodlan and their leader, Dimitri.
She smiles in joy and encouragement when she catches the professor's eyes as she walks down the aisle alone, without someone to hand her over to her waiting groom, as she willed it to be.
She hopes that now that they are joining hands and swearing to the Goddess, may Prof- no - Byleth and Dimitri be blessed with all the goodness in the world. She hopes with Byleth by Dimitri's side, she may heal Dimitri in what she knows are deep, excruciating mental and emotional scars left by the war. May the Goddess bless them with children to cherish and good health for she knows Dimitri would collapse if anything happens to Byleth. She also hopes with all her might that their love hold strong and last
Till death do them part…
Annette
She smiles widely as drops of tears run down her cheeks. The joy and happiness for His Majesty and Professor burst in her chest.
She is happy to be able to attend their wedding as they had taken their time attending hers. She glances to her left as she watched her husband smirk at Dimitri. She turns her head back and smiles once more seeing the larger hand caress Byleth's hand as they stand face to face in the altar.
She prays and hope with all her might that their love continue to flourish and grow and the love she sees in their eyes remain in their hearts. She prays that whatever challenges they face, it will only strengthen their unity and solidarity
To love and to cherish forevermore…
Felix
'Hmph, so the boar finally gets married' He thought as he watches Dimitri affectionately caress his bride's hands.
Ever since the horrific events of the Tragedy of Duscur, Felix has always seen the darkness, the feral animal, the beast inside Dimitri grow, threatening to engulf the growing crown prince.
He knows that one day, the prince's control over it will snap and that the beast would break its way through and take over.
Then she happened .
Byleth was something the prince and the beast clung on to. He sees the darkness and heavy conscious of the boar slowly be pushed back with each positive praise he receives from the professor.
But he knew, it was not gonna last.
He knew something will snap.
And it did, one by one.
The first crack was Lord Lonato's rebellion from the Church of Seiros. Lord Lonato dies by the spear in his hand.
The second crack was the death of Sir Jeralt and the reveal of Monica's turning by the Those who Slither in the Dark.
The third crack was a major crack to the mask of the boar. The chivalric, princely mask splintered to show the beast beneath it. He can still remember the desperate, mad voice and the beast peeking through those eyes. They were lucky that the professor was able to escape by using the Sword of the Creator to reap a hole in what captured her though with some sourvenir with her now mint colored hair and eyes.
The fourth crack was the reveal of the identity of the Flame Emperor. In that instance, everyone finally saw the beast he had warned them about. The madness in his voice, the bloodlust in his eyes… the brutality of his action as he killed the imperial soldiers with his bare hands and the rage when Edelgard and Hubert escaped the Tomb.
And then…
The final crack was the attack of Garreg Mach Monastery by the Adrestian Empire under Edelgard and the disappearance of both the archbishop and the Professor followed closely by the death of Grand Duke Rufus and the taking of capital and in turn Faerghus by the traitorous Cornelia.
'And he truly became a caged beast, attacking with ferociousness to defend itself.' He thought 'when an animanl is forced in a tight corner, they will atrack more fiercely to protect itself.'
The boar continued to be feral, an animal, biting back at the helping hands of the other lions until…
'Rodrigue's death '
The death of his father pushed the role of being the Shield of Faerghus upon his shoulders as he was the last member of the Main Branch of House Fraldarius.
His death and the Professor's words were the beginning of the repair of the boar's mind.
'And I hope it continues' Felix thought, smirking. ' I don't wanna deal with a boar in heat.'
for better and for worst…
Dedue
Dedue has been His Majesty's retainer for the past 13 years since the Tragedy of Duscur.
He serves his Majesty to repay his kindness of saving him from the men when they stormed Duscur.
In those years of service, he saw the ups and downs of the royal. The madness, the ferality, the burden of responsibility, and then… the joy and love of His Majesty when he was with the Professor.
As he stands in the pews leading to the altar, he smiles at the royal couple saying their vows to one another.
'I hope you all the best Your Majesty' he thinks. ' Don't let Her Grace go' as he hears the current words of Dimitri
"I, Dimitri Alexandre Blaiddyd, do take you, Byleth Eisner, to be my beloved wife...
…to have and to hold from this day forward…
Ashe
Ashe knows he was not as close to His Majesty as the others, being born a commoner from the streets and being adopted by Lord Lonato.
He looks at the couple on the altar exchanging vows underneath the gaze of the Goddess. He sees the tenderness and restraint by the King while he sees love and understanding in the Professor's eyes.
He is sure that they would love till the end of their days in this world.
His only wish for them is that the love and fidelity remain with their vows to avoid the multiple marriages that was rampant in the other royal kingdoms outside Fódlan. He prays that the love remain strong even through the differences between them.
He hears the Professor breathe in and start her vows to the king.
"I, Byleth Eisner, take you Dimitri Alexandre Blaiddyd, as the other half of my non-beating heart. I give my life to you and all that my life entails; to take the good with the bad…"
Ingrid and Sylvain
Sylvain clutched his fiance's left hand, his thumb brushing the ring on her finger studded with gems. He knows he was not the best example of Faithfulness and Loyalty when they were still in the Officers Academy, that he knows.
Ingrid squeezes his hand in comfort and in affection knowing what thought runs through his mind. She understands the commitment the professor is going into. She saw the faults of Dimitri's character: He has always been someone who thinks lowly of himself. He is afraid of letting go, restraining his strength always, afraid of hurting his beloved.
It was something they both knew long ago since their childhood.
Sylvain watches as the professor slid the wedding ring on Dimitri's finger caressing it with care. He wishes that love and affection in his own. He wishes to be able to give the love he feels without being scorched but he has learned the hard way what commitment entails and so he tries, with everything he has, to show Ingrid the loyalty and love she deserves.
He raises the hand he held in his hand, sealing the promise with a kiss.
This, Ingrid understands and pulls the hands to her, giving it a kiss.
A promise of loyalty and fidelity in return.
Like the promise being uttered by their beloved professor…
"... To live with you through trials and triumphs, to live with you in the commitment of Faith to the Goddess, the security of hope and the joys of love. Know beloved, that your image burns with love within me this I promise…"
Byleth
"... from this day forth, till death do us part." She says, looking at her beloved Dimitri's eye.
She tunes out the two representative of the West and Eastern Church who were finalizing their wedding.
Her lips tremble and her eyes teared up becaus of her love to this man.
"...you may now kiss your bride." The eastern representative said, turning his head to the King.
She looks into his shimmering blue eye as Dimitri's hands tremblingly take the end of her veil pushing it behind her head, revealing her flushed face to him.
He lets go of her veil and gently caress her face.
"I love you so much" he said, placing his forehead unto her temple. He then tilts his head and sweetly captures her painted lips among the cheers of their friends and the the people of Fódlan.
'We'll face the world ... together'
She slips her hand unto his as Dimitri gave her one more chaste kiss before turning to their audience and joining them in celebration.
The wedding rings glinting
A promise that begins for them…
Forevermore.
F I N